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Topic Review (Newest First)

08-22-2014 02:32 AM

llombardo

Quote:

Originally Posted by selzer

Good luck with him. He is young, and so long as everyone doesn't over-react, and run out and get him neutered or smack him down, he still may be able to work through a stage of fearful-reactivity, as he matures. Maybe he needs to see people coming out of the shower in towels a few more times.

I would not be surprised if he starts reacting in other circumstances as well.

I don't think smacking him either way will work, whether he is neutered or not should not make a difference when working through it.

08-21-2014 11:32 PM

selzer

If you have had both dogs since they were 4 months or younger, the same issues as littermates probably apply.

Once upon a time, I was taking my parents dogs to be groomed and they were both fine. I brought the ES in first and handed him over, and then I walked around with Cujo for 2+ hours in a very busy store around people, dogs, etc. He was awesome. I decided to just pick up Pip while I had Cujo with me. We didn't make it out of the grooming salan area without Cujo acting like an idiot. He was really young at the time, because Pippy was old when we brought Cujo over. But with Pippy present the dynamics changed for Cujo.

I also do not like the dog's lack of snapping out of it. If the dog sees something odd, fine some reaction is not the end of the world. They aren't robots. But once the person talks to the dog, or the owner speaks matter-of-factly to the dog, to knock off the nonsense, and there is no big negative feelings going on from taht quarter, the dog should recover quickly.

Also the mention that the dog is the one that will bark to alert for strangers/etc -- that ain't being the protective one.

Good luck with him. He is young, and so long as everyone doesn't over-react, and run out and get him neutered or smack him down, he still may be able to work through a stage of fearful-reactivity, as he matures. Maybe he needs to see people coming out of the shower in towels a few more times.

I would not be surprised if he starts reacting in other circumstances as well.

08-21-2014 10:13 PM

SuperG

My first dog gave me some serious attitude once...it set me back momentarily and made me wonder "what if"....as I recall, I gave the dog back a more serious attitude...and we never went there again.

SuperG

08-21-2014 09:14 PM

sparra

Quote:

Originally Posted by carmspack

I think this is key to the discussion
quote the OP "Dutch immediately stood up in the bed with head stretched forward and started growling at my son. I grabbed him, said "hey!", and thought he did not recognize my son. He never broke the stare on my son to acknowledge me. He finally stopped growling, but if I was not there, I am not sure if he would have lunged at my son. He maintained a very nervous (?) stance and when Jacob tried to sit down on the bed to pet him, Dutch just kept turning to look at him like he wanted to bite him. So I put him in his kennel. I could not snap him back to a relaxed state."

that to me is temperament . That to me is a sharp dog . He reacted because he was startled . Your son did nothing to prolong or to promote the dog's behaviour. The dog should have immediately recognized his mistake and recovered his equilibrium. Instead he did not. He remained suspicious and aroused . You said the dog maintained a nervous stance. That is it . The dog is nervous .
Could be because the dog lives in the shadow of his littermate , and this time was by himself .
That "sweet" description may be his insecurity .

The dog had no recovery . That is a nervous , sharp , temperamental issue.

This is the dog that is your risk , extra management needed.
Imagine the dog at 3 or 4 years of age and you or son come home late , quietly letting yourself in , to be met by a panicked dog in a zone that he can't be reached , fear aggressive.

Yup

08-21-2014 03:04 PM

Steve Strom

Quote:

Would he ever physically attack Jacob (or anyone else)? I just don't know. Before this happened I would have said "no way".

From this point on, I would just say, yes he would and manage him in a way that always takes that into account.

08-21-2014 02:43 PM

Atika

Quote:

Originally Posted by carmspack

The dog had no recovery . That is a nervous , sharp , temperamental issue.

This is the dog that is your risk , extra management needed.
Imagine the dog at 3 or 4 years of age and you or son come home late , quietly letting yourself in , to be met by a panicked dog in a zone that he can't be reached , fear aggressive.

You are so right carmspack. This was the main concern, no immediate recovery upon recognition. I need to be totally confident this won't happen.
Would he ever physically attack Jacob (or anyone else)? I just don't know. Before this happened I would have said "no way".
My female is not a litter mate, just of same age and from same breeder. Completely different personality, but they play well together.

08-21-2014 07:32 AM

carmspack

I think this is key to the discussion
quote the OP "Dutch immediately stood up in the bed with head stretched forward and started growling at my son. I grabbed him, said "hey!", and thought he did not recognize my son. He never broke the stare on my son to acknowledge me. He finally stopped growling, but if I was not there, I am not sure if he would have lunged at my son. He maintained a very nervous (?) stance and when Jacob tried to sit down on the bed to pet him, Dutch just kept turning to look at him like he wanted to bite him. So I put him in his kennel. I could not snap him back to a relaxed state."

that to me is temperament . That to me is a sharp dog . He reacted because he was startled . Your son did nothing to prolong or to promote the dog's behaviour. The dog should have immediately recognized his mistake and recovered his equilibrium. Instead he did not. He remained suspicious and aroused . You said the dog maintained a nervous stance. That is it . The dog is nervous .
Could be because the dog lives in the shadow of his littermate , and this time was by himself .
That "sweet" description may be his insecurity .

The dog had no recovery . That is a nervous , sharp , temperamental issue.

This is the dog that is your risk , extra management needed.
Imagine the dog at 3 or 4 years of age and you or son come home late , quietly letting yourself in , to be met by a panicked dog in a zone that he can't be reached , fear aggressive.

08-21-2014 01:50 AM

Atika

Quote:

Originally Posted by lalachka

or use a muzzle

Yes - I thought of that too.

08-21-2014 01:47 AM

lalachka

Quote:

Originally Posted by Atika

I think so too. I was chatting with a trainer I know about the issue. He suggested creating different scenarios that might be similar but smaller scale. For instance wave a towel or even a wash cloth, or other different circumstance he is not used to. Not to taunt him, but to acclimate him. He said to just give a quick correction if it happens (i.e. poke in the rib or verbal) and then move on. I said, what if he snaps/bites at me? He said, he might, but better to find out now than when he is full grown.

or use a muzzle

08-21-2014 01:45 AM

Atika

Quote:

Originally Posted by SuperG

I somewhat agree with this but certainly I have seen behavior which would indicate otherwise.

For instance, if anybody pulls into our driveway our dog has very specific behavior....HOWEVER when I pull into my driveway and get out of my vehicle there is a marked difference in my dog's behavior.
SuperG

There used to be a stray cat in my neighborhood that I would feed at night. As soon as I pulled into the neighborhood, I would see her run from wherever she was over to my driveway and wait. It "seemed" she knew the sound of my truck. Pavlov's cat

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